19th Mar 2004, 08:29

27th Jan 2005, 04:03

I had a Niva when my kids were teenagers. I never had a problem with the back seat, but the anchorages for the front seats were a bit flimsy. Yes, my headlights filled with water too.

I bought it for its off-road ability and I was constantly impressed. The low gearing, long suspension, large tyres and small overhangs were amazing in the rough stuff.

Its lack of power steering was a pain at parking speeds on the road, but I had two sets of wheels which worked well. I used the standard wheels and tyres for weekends away and wider wheels with street tyres during the week. With the wide rims it handled well on the road for a 4WD.

I look back on it as the most fun I ever had in a car despite its poor build quality when compared with Japanese offerings. I guess I appreciated the driving experience so much I put up with the build quality.